Bennington College: Acceptance rate - 59%. Overachiever president Mariko Silver has already boosted the Vermont college's endowment and is on a mission to hit 1,000 students. A new "dimensional application" gives high schoolers complete control of how they are evaluated for admission. (see full story)

Bentley Unversity: Acceptance rate - 46%. Dynamic leadership from attorney Gloria Cordes Larson. Business-focused with an emphasis on internships. More selective Boston area rival Babson College is in its crosshairs.

Berry College: Acceptance rate - 61%. A Christian values school with an innovative president, Stephen Briggs, and curriculum, including a new "creative technologies" major. Also, a breathtaking 27,000-acre campus, with English Gothic buildings, set in the in the Appalachian mountains of Georgia.

Drew University:Acceptance rate - 58%. Management and operations are being overhauled by a top notch team lead by MaryAnn Baenninger. Experiential learning and its proximity to New York City are key. (see full story)

Drexel University:Acceptance rate - 76%. Co-op schools are hot and dealmaker John A. Fry is turning STEM-focused Drexel into the NYU of Philadelphia. (see full story)

Goucher College: Acceptance rate - 76%. President and jazz musician José Antonio Bowen is breathing new life into Baltimore's Goucher, with radical plans for overhauling its curriculum. Applicants can now create a two-minute video in lieu of sending in transcripts or SAT/ACT scores.

Long Island University:Acceptance rate - 83%. With an LIU campus in hipster-haven Brooklyn, 20,000 students, and a focus on experiential learning, president Kim Cline is one to watch.

Purdue University:Acceptance rate - 59%. Former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels is a cost-cutter who's beefing up the school's focus on STEM and startups.

University Of The Arts:Acceptance rate - 67%. Enrollment had been sliding for years at this Philadelphia-based college. New president David Yager is an artist with a business-friendly focus.

Ursinus College:Acceptance rate - 83%. New president and economist Brock Blomberg learned the ropes at the Wharton of the West, Claremont McKenna. Ursinus' location, less than an hour's drive from Philadelphia, is a big plus.